Florida

Season Dates (2013): Florida's season dates are broken up by its four zones. Zone A, Florida's southern zone, opens the earliest, with bowhunters hitting the woods Aug. 3 to Sept. 1. Muzzleloader, crossbow and modern firearms hunters all get their chance during that timeframe. Zone B (Interior-Western): Oct. 19 to Nov. 17; Zone C (Peninsular Florida): Sept. 14 to Oct. 13.; Zone D (Panhandle): Oct. 26 to Nov. 27.

The Grade: C

Your odds of killing a Booner in Florida are about as high as finding a white-sand beach full of bikinis in Iowa—possible, perhaps, but not likely. But trophy potential isn't everything—far from it. Florida has a high deer population, liberal seasons, cheap licenses and an amazing 5.5 million acres of land in its WMA system. Hunters who put in their time in the Sunshine state have a good chance of killing a deer, even if it won't make the book. Not a thing wrong with that in our eyes.

Deer Nation Knowledge: There are around 30 subspecies (give or take, biologists argue about the true number) of white-tailed deer. Florida claims three of these: the Florida coastal deer, found in the Panhandle; the Florida whitetail, found in the interior; and the key deer, a tiny, protected species found on Big Pine Key. In part because of this diversity, and no doubt in part because of the tropical climate, Florida whitetails have some of the widest-ranging rut dates of any deer in the nation, with breeding taking place from July through early March.